Gaining Ecommerce-like Simplicity within a Drone-As-A-Service Framework

Transcription

1 Gaiig Ecommerce-like Simplicity withi a Droe-As-A-Service Framework Abstract Takig ote of the expoetial growth of droe-asas-a-service (DaaS), eterprises are deployig commercial droes for ispectio (ifrastructure, survey, idustrial, isurace), photogrammetry (3D mappig, digital twi), retail (delivery) ad telecommuicatios (o-demad cell o wigs, etwork coectivity). Usually, these droes leverage a ecosystem comprisig specialized payloads, additioal data storage, backup sesors, loger ight times powered by high capacity batteries, o-board or o-groud applicatios, ad ight cotrollers. The pricig also varies depedig o the requiremets for customizig these droes to execute relevat services. It s time umaed aerial vehicle (UAV) service suppliers (USS) collaborate with multiple vedors to create a e-commerce platform capable of moitorig ad moetizig droe-based services. Such a framework could o-board several service providers, extedig capabilities to autoomous droe services, cloud-based applicatios ad ifrastructure, as well as o-demad applicatios. This would esure iter-operability ad effective pricig for a ed-to-ed DaaS offerig.

2 Preparig for Flight I 2017 aloe, the global market reveue for persoal ad commercial droes has icreased by 34%, ad is wellpositioed to reach more tha USD 11.2 billio by As a strategic respose, USS are preparig to provide pay-per-use, agile services that are supported by digital techologies ad the cloud to esure ubiquitous experiece ad usability. A robust ecommerce-like platform ca put USS i a positio to offer differetiated, o-demad services ad esure effective moetizatio. This ca either be developed i-house or through collaboratio with differet vedors. While both are viable optios, the latter will accelerate time-to-market for such a solutio. However, there are certai roadblocks these service providers must overcome. These iclude the lack of digitized documetatio of etitlemets ad usage, ui ed service trackig mechaism, ad iteroperable platforms that result i overall operatioal ief ciecies. As the demad for DaaS rises, USS must take ote of these challeges that would affect overall pro tability. Buildig the DaaS Framework For those leaig toward the i-house approach, developig such a platform will require eterprises to reoriet their busiess processes such as supply chai maagemet, order ful llmet. This will require iteral teams to desig, develop, as well as implemet add-os like a etitlemet egie, a chargig platform, ad more delayig time-to-market cosiderably. I collaboratio, however, USS ca leverage cross-domai expertise ad expedite the developmet lifecycle, ad i tur, equip them to offer a diverse portfolio of costatly evolvig services. The partership will also be bee cial for the USS i providig diversi ed services with parters addig evolved features to the product suite. Ed users ca accordigly choose the services they eed, freeig up eterprises from worryig about developig ad itegratig etitlemet, usage, subscriptios or reewals, ad billig features.

3 Figure 1 illustrates the may compoets that must be cosidered for eablig such a ecommerce-like framework. Figure 1: Droes-as-a-Service Ecommerce Framework These iclude: A service portal a sigle, ui ed pae for the ed user to subscribe or request for relevat services, or reew existig oes. The service portal or user iterface will allow ed users to ot oly select the applicable services but also the duratio ad coverage, as well as have the optio to iclude commets or additioal requests accordigly. The user ca also choose add-os like post-processig services either o the cloud i real-time or of ie. I tur, eterprises ca effectively maage ad streamlie service request geeratio. A authorizatio server that autheticates retail users through register or logi, ad eterprise users through a itegrated Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) for autheticatio, authorizatio, ad accoutig (AAA). This would eable users to retrieve existig etitlemet or history of services, ad modify curret etitlemet, if eeded. USS ca also exted services for a de ed trial period for users to gauge their feasibility.

4 A etitlemet egie resposible for key work ow maagemet operatios, liked to a co-residet or distributed data store with iteroperability through APIs. This core egie must itegrate with a multi-vedor product suite, ad will be resposible for maitaiig the life-cycle of service requests. A chargig platform accoutable for maitaiig subscriptio, quota, usage billig, reewal cycle, ad so o, which is itegrated with a paymet gateway. A droe ight service provider resposible for validatig available quota or sharig usage for the requested service Cloud applicatios for data storage (most applicable for surveys ad ispectio) ad processig leveragig data aalytics, 3D Modellig, ad more A cloud-based ifrastructure that provides cocurret user support for processig ad respodig to requests ad relevat queries i ear real-time, esurig optimized performace ad scalability Deliverig Compellig User Experiece To illustrate the eed for sychroizig the etitlemet egie with a multi-vedor product suite, cosider three hypothetical scearios: 1. A pre-registered retail user with some existig etitlemets requests for a o-demad aerial survey. This user selects the area to be ispected ad relevat requiremets for such a survey, ad submits the request. Based o this, the droe-asa-service applicatio calculates survey area, ight pla, time, ad so o. Depedig o the payload (the camera type to be used, expected resolutio), it otes the umber of photos to be take, cloud storage eeds, ad applicatios to be deployed for post-survey photo processig. This e-commerce framework the veri es the user quota storage, umber of maps ad photographs, amog others. I case for the requested odemad services, the etitlemets have exceeded, such a platform checks ad validates whether the ed-user has opted for the auto-reewal feature reewig subscriptios ad geeratig ivoices accordigly. This esures seamless operatios i compariso to users beig deied service requests ad havig to ivestigate the root cause across multiple applicatios.

5 2. A eterprise user requests for live streamig of a evet. It selects the required services from the catalog, alog with the evet type, time period, ad coverage eeded. The droes-asa-service applicatio computes the required umber of droes, payloads to esure best coverage ad post-processig or live relay of the evet. The applicable etitlemets for the user is validated by the e-commerce framework agaist the multivedor product solutios ad service request processed. Post completio, a purchase order (or its equivalet) is set to the eterprise. 3. A retail customer is lookig for last mile delivery services, but wats to evaluate the costs for requestig these. The ecommerce platform calculates the applicable quote based o the service request ad presets the same to the user. Based o this data, he or she ca proceed to register ad pay for the subscriptios. The applicable etitlemets gets activated, ad the user the proceeds with the service. This framework will provide a sigle view of all relevat services to the user, while esurig agility, icreased odemad services, ad ease-of-use. Takig a step i that directio, Mercedes-Bez Va, siroop, ad Matteret have iitiated a rst-of-its-kid project to test the ef ciecy of a fully-automated va ad droe-based system for o-demad 2 ecommerce goods delivery. Navigatig the Skies Ahead I the future, this platform will ope up the scope to ehace user experiece further by itegratig additioal features that promise: Agility through cloudi ed services eablig DaaS to leverage o-demad services from the cloud platform, icludig real-time video aalytics, photogrammetry, digital twi creatio Last mile coectivity esurig ef ciet operatios pertaiig to last mile retail delivery, ispectio, ad so o *O-demad rst perso view (FPV) by itegratig augmeted reality (AR) ad/or virtual reality (VR) Ehaced collaboratio usig droe swarms for surveys, surveillace, ispectio over vast areas withi a short period of time

6 Refereces: 1. Garter, Garter Says Almost 3 Millio Persoal ad Commercial Droes Will Be Shipped i 2017, February 9, 2017, accessed o Jauary 2, 2018, 2. Daimler, Vas & Droes i Zurich: Mercedes-Bez Vas, Matteret ad siroop start pilot project for o-demad delivery of e-commerce goods, accessed o Jauary 30, 2018, Zurich-Mercedes-Bez-Vas-Matteret-ad-siroop-start-pilot-project-for-o-demaddelivery-of-e-commerce-goods.xhtml?oid=

7 About The Authors Partha Datta Partha Datta is a Seior Domai Cosultat with TCS' Techology busiess uit. With over 18 years of experiece i the telecom idustry, he heads the NextGe R&D group withi the uit. Datta works closely with TCS' cliets the world over i coceptualizig techology solutios to eable value-added busiess processes trasformatio, specifically i the areas of SD-WAN, droes, robotics, ad AI. He has a Master's degree i Istrumetatio from the Idia Istitute of Sciece (IISc), Bagalore, Idia. Shivai Pathak Shivai Pathak is a Solutio Architect with TCS' Techology busiess uit. With seve years of experiece i architectig solutios for telecom ad bakig idustries, Pathak desigs architectural frameworks for viable usecases to overcome the challeges i areas of droes, robotics, ad multimedia processig. She has a Master's degree i Computer Sciece from the Mody Istitute of Techology ad Sciece, Rajastha, Idia. Cotact Visit the Commuicatios, Media & Techology page o marketig.techbu@tcs.com Blog: Next Ge CMI Subscribe to TCS White Papers TCS.com RSS: Feedburer: Prateek Jha Prateek Jha is a Lead Solutios Egieer with TCS Techology Busiess Uit ad focusses o Droes/UAV Traffic maagemet. Jha specializes i the implemetatio of proof-ofcocept leveragig the Droe ecosystem eablig busiesses ad customer save time ad cost of productio/developmet ad time to market. About Tata Cosultacy Services Ltd (TCS) Tata Cosultacy Services is a IT services, cosultig ad busiess solutios orgaizatio that delivers real results to global busiess, esurig a level of certaity o other firm ca match. TCS offers a cosultig-led, itegrated portfolio of IT ad IT-eabled, ifrastructure, egieerig ad assurace services. This is TM delivered through its uique Global Network Delivery Model, recogized as the bechmark of excellece i software developmet. A part of the Tata Group, Idia s largest idustrial coglomerate, TCS has a global footprit ad is listed o the Natioal Stock Exchage ad Bombay Stock Exchage i Idia. For more iformatio, visit us at All cotet / iformatio preset here is the exclusive property of Tata Cosultacy Services Limited (TCS). The cotet / iformatio cotaied here is correct at the time of publishig. No material from here may be copied, modified, reproduced, republished, uploaded, trasmitted, posted or distributed i ay form without prior writte permissio from TCS. Uauthorized use of the cotet / iformatio appearig here may violate copyright, trademark ad other applicable laws, ad could result i crimial or civil pealties. Copyright 2018 Tata Cosultacy Services Limited TCS Desig Services I M I 03 I 18